Blake plays us all, again, including Justin Timberlake

As I reported yesterday -- click here for a refresher -- Blake Lively’s Martha Stewart Wedding wasn’t exactly as we expected. There are no faces -- not on the cover, not inside, nowhere. The only shot we get of Blake is of her hand holding Ryan Reynold’s and a corner of her dress.

Not even a photo of the dress on a hanger!

It’s tasteful, you see?

Very, very tasteful. Very Martha Stewart. Very much in line with the tone of the magazine. And almost deliberately so. So that she can, like GOOP actually, throw it back in everyone else’s face. Here’s the introduction to the feature as presented by the magazine. I mean if this isn’t some white picket WASPy shade...

“When Ryan and Blake secretly got engaged last June, they knew it would take careful planning, confidentiality, and a select crew to pull off their nuptials before word got out. Enter Martha Stewart.

We quickly discovered that Ryan and Blake are not like the many altar-bound celebrities who sell their big-day photos to the highest bidder. This public, yet very private, couple's sole wish was to have an intimate affair (there were only 35 guests total). And while they remain protective of images of them on their most heartfelt occasion, they graciously let us share pictures of the elements we created together.”

Did Blake Lively just tell Justin Timberlake to suck a dick?

I think she did.

God, this girl. She is STILL DOING that.

How does she keep DOING that?

She made us want it, badly. And then she withheld it -- in a way that only made everyone else seem like losers, including Mr & Mrs Timberlake, while she remains not only beyond reproach but even more elevated for finding exactly the right balance in how much to reveal.

This, then, is the answer to the remaining few among you who keep shouting at me over email about how Blake’s overrated and why celebrate her so hard. As an actor? There is no rating, don’t be ridiculous. But as a strategic manipulator of the media? As a participant in the fame game? This is, after all, what we’re here to observe, isn’t it? From the CW to Martha Stewart, Blake Lively - Blake Lively!!! - is now sticking a finger in JT’s face and outclassing everyone else on the sale. I should be asking you -- because how do YOU not get it?